Town Square

Thousands of Kaiser workers participate in one-day strike

Original post made
on Feb 1, 2012

Thousands of workers took to picket lines in support of 4,000 employees who are members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, a NUHW representative said. In Walnut Creek, several hundred registered nurses represented by the California Nurses Association took part in a sympathy strike.

The nurses who walked out "in sympathy" should be fired. They have a (very sweet) no strike contract to which they agreed. No, it wasn't for the patients. I believe this is the 3rd walkout since they signed the contract. Perhaps it's time to train more nurses and provide some competition.

Posted by SafeStaffing
a resident of Walnut Creek
on Feb 5, 2012 at 7:21 pm

Apparently you both are not aware that any union employee has a moral obligation to support other unions. This is about patient care. Nurses have a moral obligation to stand up for the injustices our patient's are dealing with everyday. People deserve to have mental health visits in a timely manner when they need them. It is very sad that people don't understand the true issues at hand. All workers deserve to have pensions, good health care, and be able to retire. Kaiser has put an attack on ALL there workers and put more money into upper managments pockets...These nurses save lives and without a doubt care about there patients. Don't be so quick to judge unless you know all the facts.

The America I grew up with had jobs, education and healthcare. Unions ushered this era in for the middleclass after the 1928 depression. American profits made from American labor was taxed at 90% through the 1960s to fund education, research, infrastructure. The American dream has been hijacked by corporatocracy favoring the wealthy. The greater productivity of all workers is now shunted away from education, healthcare and government safety net programs to stockholders and executives. I am a RN and can speak to the elimination of patient care services and jobs in order to make healthcare 'affordable.' CEO G. Halvorson's can now afford 8.98 million dollar annual salary. Forty Kaiser executives make Fifty-five million dollars. The plan is to take funds from middle class employees that have worked for members' health care, their own wages and benefits and shunt it to stockholders. It hurts patient care, employees and communities and a time when Kaiser executives are thriving.

The healthcare system in our country is a mess. That is why President Obama initiated major healthcare reform. Other nations spend a third to one half per person what the U.S. spends on healthcare--and they get far better treatment. Even Cuba--a lowly socialist country--provides better healthcare for its citizens than the U.S. While in Cuba, we met a U.S. citizen there who was admitted to a Cuban medical university. She is getting six years of medical education for free. After graduation, she plans to intern in a third-world country. By taking several additional classes in the U.S. she can also practice medicine here.